How to Create a Great Gallery Wall Follow these tips and a beautiful display is in your future.
It’s virtually impossible these days to check out a decor blog or Instagram feed without stumbling on a pic of a drool-worthy gallery wall. Looking effortless, totally gorgeous, and perfectly hung, it’s bound to inspire room envy and just a bit of trepidation. With this in mind, we’re sharing a few thoughts on how to approach your own gallery wall so you can tackle it with confidence.
1. Gather the Goods
The first step is to assemble all of your unhung art including photos, prints, paintings, kid drawings, even sculpture. New or vintage. The pricey stuff and the thrifty. Mismatched frames and unframed pieces. Throw it all it in. It’s preferable to have a mix of styles, orientations, color schemes and frames. At this point, just see what you have. More is more. You won’t know what works until you see it all together.
2. Play Curator
Place all of the art on the floor in front of the future gallery wall. Start with one of the larger works you have and place it in the center or slightly off-center of the wall. This is the anchor that everything builds out from. From here, start arranging works around it and try different configurations. Trust your gut for what looks best and be patient. It may take many combinations to find the one that works.
3. Phone a Friend
You don’t have to go it alone. We think that two minds are better than one in this scenario. Enlist your most stylish friend (the one with the house you die for) to work on your gallery hang with you. If they live somewhere else, snap pics of different configurations and send it to them to get their advice. Having the photos on your phone will also provide some additional perspective. Being able to quickly flip back and forth between different gallery hang styles will let you compare your options.
4. Grab a Hammer
We won’t overwhelm you with the nitty gritty details on hanging like a gallery professional. But the basics are this: start with the center artwork. Hang this 60 inches from the floor on center. All of the other pieces should be about 2 or 3 inches from each other to give a uniform look. Don’t worry about achieving perfect symmetry though; accomplishing balance through asymmetrical arrangements helps make the hang look natural. Deep breath—you will rock this.
5. Keep Collecting
Lastly, there’s nothing wrong with starting your wall with a small group of works and continuing to build it over time. If you don’t have a massive collection of pieces, that’s fine. Begin with a grouping of three or five (generally, odd numbers work best). Scout for new art to add, checking online, in galleries and antique markets. Your gallery wall is a living thing; keep it fresh, build upon it and have fun with it.
